Five Times Billy is treated as a child
by randomfics
Summary: Five times a member of the Justice League  or Young Justice  treated Captain Marvel differently because of his Secret Identity and the one time that Billy Batson the child proved to everyone that he's just as valuable as any other member.


_1. Wonder Woman_

The Amazonian woman had never placed _too_ much faith in the abilities of man. To know that one of the members was a ten year old boy was simply too much to ask for.

Fingers drummed against the table as she regarded the problem set before her. There were three different missions- One was a very easy, capture-the-villain robbing stores type deal. It was something they put the newest members of the League on. The second, slightly harder mission was to track down some aliens (not the kind that crossed country borders, but those that actually came from space) and decide whether or not they were to be trusted.

The third, hardest mission was a massive pile-up of enemies happening in Washington D.C. There was some kind of superhero there already named Freakazoid, but judging by his nature, he would not be much help.

Captain Marvel had been sent on the third kind of mission often enough- his high immunity to magic made him invaluable.

Still… he was a child.

Her fingers hovered indecisively.

At last, her lips tightened, and she picked up the papers, making a snap decision. Captain Marvel would handle the first, easiest mission, while Green Arrow would handle the second. She would lead a group of superheroes in the third mission- they'd have to interrupt Superman for it, but she was quite certain he would understand.

_2. Superman_

The red cape swirled in choppy air as the alien drifted down slowly. His arms crossed his chest. His face, as always, could be carved from stone.

Captain Marvel floated down next to him, a big, cheesy grin plastered across his face, the media eating it up like they always did.

He hadn't ever noticed how they took pictures of Captain Marvel- the media _always_ took pictures of everyone. It was different now- Captain Marvel was _ten_. That was about the age when he was still playing in the farm fields with his own mother and father.

His frown intensified, as Captain Marvel practically bounced up to the media people, being friendly as always. His interviews were always taken eagerly in by the media, probably because he was the only one who actually would release _any _details.

Superman's frown grew darker by the second as Captain Marvel highlighted some of the villains they had fought, and the general location of their battle.

"Captain Marvel, it's time to go now." His stern voice broke across the reporters babbling; the reporters and Marvel both looked at him like he'd just deprived them of ice-cream.

"We have reports, and there will be a press release later. Come."

There was no sense letting Billy accidentally spill all of their secrets. Even if no confidential information had leaked out before, one couldn't always be lucky when it came to a ten-year-old boy.

If looks could kill, Superman would be dead a thousand times over.

_3. Kaldur_

The merman stood at the bank of windows, looking out across the field. Captain Marvel, in all; of his red-suited glory, ran and played with Superboy's pet wolf. Even from this far away he could see the wide smile on the man's face, as he ducked and dodged sharp claws.

As Captain Marvel, he couldn't be harmed, but there was still the nagging sensation that this was a ten-year-old child out playing. And while he was never one to doubt someone's physical strength- he did remember the pep talk Captain Marvel had given him.

Wisdom of Solomon it might have been, but still words from a child.

His eyes narrowed as Captain Marvel swung around the wolf, just barely missing having a finger bitten off.

"Superboy, please tell Wolf to be more careful when playing with Billy."

He ignored the raised eyebrow sent after his retreating back.

_4. Artemis_

She'd never had much faith in Captain Marvel in the first place, and knowing that he was a child only exacerbated it. The league obviously hadn't figured it out before the spell had abruptly dumped it on everyone.

Still- it actually kind of rankled.

They were considered too young to be on the league- Captain Marvel, or _Billy_ was on the league, and at least several years younger. It rankled, big time.

Well, not just that, but she bet she had been battling others for far longer then he had. What did he know about struggles anyways? He probably lived in a nice house, with both his parents, who loved in supported him. Never going hungry, with all of the toys he could ask for.

Her scowl darkened as Captain Marvel floated above their heads, his stupid cape fluttering in the breeze. It really was stupid- she didn't know what exactly it was meant to stand for, but whatever it was, it had to be something equally childish.

A car sailed overhead, flicked away by the villain- Captain Marvel and Superboy both rocketed up to catch it, earning even more surprised shrieks and yells from the car's occupants. Together they brought it down to Earth, settling it gently on its axles.

Captain Marvel grinned as he floated up a few more feet, shading his eyes to look at the villain. "I'll-" He began, when Artemis finally lined up her shot.

The bow hummed sweetly, the arrow flying straight and true. The monster roared as it hit, and detonated.

"Yeah kid, go home and play with your iPod or computer." She sneered at him, and walked away.

Captain Marvel stared after her for a long moment, before muttering quietly enough that only Superboy could hear it, "I don't have an iPod _or_ computer."

_5. Conner Kent_

Since learning of Billy's true age, he noticed the entire team had treated him… differently. The White Goblins hadn't programmed him for this. He was physically a teenager, but actually only a few months old. This odd duality caused his own see-sawing back and forth.

Billy was usually ten years old, but as Captain Marvel, apparently around twenty-four to twenty-five. His maturity level stayed the same, but perhaps the biggest, most noticeable difference was the way everyone else treated _Billy_.

More protective.

His frown intensified as Captain Marvel approached him, cape swishing in the self-created wind. He needed to get a cape that didn't look quite so dorky. Or maybe just a costume in general- it seemed to be the 'done' thing.

"Hey Superboy!"

The teen grunted, arms crossed. Usually he'd leave about now, but according to human social dynamics, he was supposed to indulge children.

That didn't mean he had to look happy about it.

_6. And the one time Billy proved he's just as capable as Billy…_

The League was in a bit of a pinch. On one hand, they needed information… on the other hand, the only people who knew the information were a bunch of kids scared stiff of the superheroes.

Even Batman couldn't come close to them without them crying, and Robin's usual jokes only made them cry harder. They were huddled on the far side of the room, as Diana attempted to project womanly calmness towards them.

Superman anxiously spoke to Batman, whose eyes were probably fixated on the children- the dark knight of Gotham city wasn't used to having children scared of him. His suit was designed to be scary to adults, not children, and Superman's nagging wasn't helping him in figuring out how to fix it.

Robin and Kid Flash put heads together in their own attempt to find some jokes that wouldn't make the little kids burst into tears again, as Superboy stayed far away from Superman as possible without scaring the children.

The rest of the League, and Young Justice League were busy elsewhere, trying to gain their own information to piece together the current plot of the villains.

"SHAZAM!" The mighty boom of thunder shook the building, breaking everyone's concentration to look up with concerned looks. Captain Marvel had abruptly disappeared when they had entered this area, saying he was going to go gather bargaining chips, but what-

Billy Batson staggered in, arms full of food. "Hi, sorry I'm late you guys, the lines at the register were really long."

"Ca-" Diana began, before cutting off as the children fixated on the food in his arms. Billy walked right by the superheroes towards the kids.

The kids hesitated, before cautiously approaching the food. Billy didn't ask where they were from, or where their parents were, he handed out the food, commenting dryly, "Batman's the coolest."

Superman glared. Billy ignored it, "He was the one who paid for all of this." The blatant lie went unremarked upon- Batman had joined them after Captain Marvel had left and... maybe not such a lie after all.

"Does he have a Bat-card?" One of the children asked shyly, peeking around Billy with curious eyes before quickly stuffing her mouth with the food.

Billy looked back at Batman, and shrugged. "I don't know. Want to go with me and ask?"

The little girl nodded, eyes wide. Billy handed out the rest of the food, before looking around at the other kids. "Hey, by the way, I'm looking for this guy, tall, with dark hair. Looks like a rich boy. Carrying one of those briefcases you see in movies."

"Dunno about movies, but you talking about that guy on the news right now?"

"Uh-huh." Billy smiled, more teeth then strictly necessary. "He hurt my little sister."

The children looked at each other then back at him. "He was at the Sizzler's restaurant up on the Fourth street, nearby the abandoned train station only a few hours ago. We didn't get a chance to look for food before he scared us off with a few friends."

Diana and Superman took off. After a few seconds, Superboy and Kid Flash were right after them. Batman stayed behind, looming in the corner. "Thanks for the info guys. Might wanna try the Applejacks, at the mall. A lot of customers leave behind their trays still practically uneaten so if you slide in fast enough…" Billy didn't continue, but the kids instantly caught what he was saying, and nods were shared all around.

"If you need anything else, you know where to find us." One of the kids promised.

The little girl tugged on Billy's pant leg, and Billy smiled as he took the girl by the hand and led her over to Batman. Her hands flailed in the air, and her mouth moved, but not so much as a squeak passed her lips.

Billy looked up at Batman, who ignored him in turn to crouch down next to the girl. "Yes I have a Batcard. Unlimited."

Her eyes went impossibly huge as she turned to Billy. Billy grinned back, "See, I told you asking him was easy."

They both turned back to where Batman was standing- before they realized he had vanished.

"He's gone!"

"Yeah, he is."

A note was posted against the door, and Billy scanned it.

_Thanks for the help. Take care of the kids, we'll take care of your sister._ A little batsymbol was drawn next to it.

"C'mon let's go."

The _League_ might not be ready to accept him yet, but Batman was. That was all Billy Batson needed.

* * *

a/n: Once again, trying to get a handle on each character. Drop me a line if I messed up too badly please!


End file.
